Brake & Clutch bleeder MC adapters

[Old Guy]

In preparation for flushing the brake and clutch hydraulics on my NSX I decided that I should probably check to make sure that my pressure bleeder had the appropriate reservoir adapters. Sure enough, none of them will work, in part because of the mungo size of the cap on the brake reservoir and the locking mechanism for retaining the cap used on both of them. I think all of my adapters are threaded type for older European cars.

I have a vac style bleeder; but, that is just too much of a hassle after being used to the very quick pressure bleed system. I went looking for an MC adapter that would work with NSX MC reservoir and the only thing that I have found so far is the Motive Products 1101 adapter.

https://www.amazon.ca/Motive-Produc...72598425&sr=8-1&keywords=motive+products+1101

It looks like the one adapter should fit both the clutch and brake reservoirs.

Has anybody used the Motive Products adapter or can recommend another adapter to flush the brake and clutch hydraulics on the NSX?

Thanks

Neil

 

[Wavey1]

I bought that adapter for the same reason, and it's crap. I wasted much time trying to get it to seal with no luck. The chains are crap and nothing else I tried (C-clamps, hose clamps, etc.) would create a seal. Photo attached showing their method of attaching the cap. It's a joke. I thoroughly cleaned the reservoir and Motive's cap, tried lightly heating both parts to soften them a bit, zero luck with anything. I finally gave up and went with vacuum bleeding. It's a real shame because pressure bleeding is so good and it's worked great on every other car I used the Motive on.

Edit: PM me your address and I'll send you mine if you want to give it a try.

 

[Old Guy]

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear; but, exactly the type of feedback that is useful. Thanks.

Do you know what the nature of the sealing problem was? Was the cap (it looks like plastic) flexing when you tried to tighten it?

I might take you up on your offer if I am not able to find an alternative cap. The primary problem seems to be that the cap on the NSX reservoir is too large for a lot of the adapters.

- - - Updated - - -

Does anybody know whether CTA 7032 is the correct adapter for the NSX MC reservoir? The dimensions appear to match the existing reservoir cap.

http://autopart.com/ToolsHTM/7032.htm

I was thinking about salvaging a matching reservoir cap off of some Honda / Acura wrecker and turning it into an adapter. However, as far as I can determine, the later NSX brake MC and reservoir appear to be unique to the NSX. So chances of finding a sutable cap off of a wrecker is pretty close to zero. The clutch reservoir appears to be shared with some Integra, Vigor, Accord and Prelude models so I might be able to source a cap off of a wrecker for bleeding the clutch.

- - - Updated - - -

This one looks nice (and a bit pricey!).

http://www.powerprobe.com/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=96_97&product_id=131

Says that it fits a 2.91 " dia MC (I assume that means ID) which looks like it would fit the NSX reservoir (74.4 mm ID). Definitely not universal enough to fit the clutch.

 

[Wavey1]

I'm pretty sure mine is metal, would have to dig it out. But the rubber sealing surface seemed to be too hard to create an effective seal with the top of the reservoir. I really would be happy to send it to you to try. I searched for comments before I bought this and others had problems with it too, but some were successful. I could get it to hold a small bit of pressure but not enough to effectively bleed the system before it popped an air pressure leak.

 

[Old Guy]

If the issue is that the rubber surface gasket is ineffective, I have no reason to believe that I would be able to make it work if you were unsuccessful. But, again thanks for the offer.

With about 6 minutes of clicking with Mr. Google, I was able to find a number of vendors of the Power Probe BA-09 adapter with much lower prices (1/3 of the MSRP). That is a little more reasonable for an infrequent user like me. I remain baffled by the on-line price spreads that exist for the same product. I sometimes wonder if the higher priced listings are virtual vendors created to make the lower price options look really good.

I may give the Power Probe adapter a try.

 

[boca rat]

Educate me: why would you go to this expense and trouble rather than just use Speedbleeders?

 

[Old Guy]

Speed bleeders still require you to pump the brakes with the attendant risk that you damage the MC if you over stroke the brake pedal. That is not an issue if you are doing this on a new MC.

Pressure bleeders often come with an external reservoir which supplies new fluid to the MC as the old fluid is expelled which pretty much eliminates the risk of running the MC dry during the bleeding process (and eliminates the need to check and refill the MC reservoir during the process). You set up the system, go to a wheel and open the bleeder and let the fluid run until it is clear. If all 4 wheels are off, once the adapter is attached the total process of flushing all four brake lines for a car with a single bleeder per caliper probably takes 5 - 6 minutes (based upon my experience with other cars). Bleeding a dry system will take longer because of the retained air bubbles in the system.

If you want to develop a love for pressure bleeders, try doing a brake system bleed on a vintage Volvo with its four piston dual circuit brake calipers with 3 bleeders per caliper and a specific order for doing the bleeds which requires you to run circuits around the car as you bleed individual circuits.

The down side is that it does require access to an air compressor.

 

[Wavey1]

Educate me: why would you go to this expense and trouble rather than just use Speedbleeders?

I bought a set of Speedbleeders for my 911, and when I tried to install them they felt like they were going to grind out the threads in the caliper. The pre-applied sealant seemed to be hard, so they sent me a replacement pair, same problem. Then I had the identical issue with them for my NSX calipers. The sealant that time was really hard and was popping off the bleeder threads. I don't know if all those sets had an "old stock" problem, but in both cases the caliper were freshly rebuils and the threads were clean. I lost confidence in the product. I really prefer the pressure bleeding method too. The Motive setup couldn't be easier, if only I could get their damn adapter to work on the X.

 

[boca rat]

Maybe that was an old stock issue then. I just put them on my 91, no issues at all, other than a couple of the dust caps have come off...

I bought a set of Speedbleeders for my 911, and when I tried to install them they felt like they were going to grind out the threads in the caliper. The pre-applied sealant seemed to be hard, so they sent me a replacement pair, same problem. Then I had the identical issue with them for my NSX calipers. The sealant that time was really hard and was popping off the bleeder threads. I don't know if all those sets had an "old stock" problem, but in both cases the caliper were freshly rebuils and the threads were clean. I lost confidence in the product. I really prefer the pressure bleeding method too. The Motive setup couldn't be easier, if only I could get their damn adapter to work on the X.